Glenn Davis was such a star, his debut with the Rams was headline news. Even if the game wasn’t a real game.

Davis, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1946 as part of powerhouse Army teams, was the main attraction at the Rams’ intrasquad game at Gilmore Stadium. More than 11,000 fans attended the exhibition, which The Times’ Braven Dyer said was Davis’ first local appearance since he played at Bonita High in La Verne "way back before the war."

And Davis didn’t disappoint, scoring three touchdowns. The only bad news was he wouldn’t be available during the season for the Rams. Dyer wrote that after the next week’s exhibition, Davis "goes overseas with Uncle Sam’s army. Dan Reeves, principal stockholder of the Rams, sat in the stands last night and wished that Joe Stalin would drop dead or jump out of the third floor of the Kremlin."

Davis had a short career with the Rams after completing his military service. The Rams reached the league title game in 1950 and he led the team in rushing. But before his pro career started, he had injured his knee making a movie called "The Spirit of West Point" with his Army teammate, fellow Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard. 

At Army, the speedy Davis was known as Mr. Outside and Blanchard was Mr. Inside. Army won national titles in 1944 and ’45 and finished second in ’46.

After football, Davis spent more than 30 years at The Times, retiring as the director of special events.

Davis died in 2005 at the age of 80. The Times’ Mike Kupper used a quote from a former Army teammate in Davis’ obituary: "There are words to describe how good an athlete Doc Blanchard was. But there aren’t words to describe how good Davis was."

keith.thursby@latimes.com

May 6, 1962: Bo Belinsky of the Angels fires a fast ball at the Baltimore Orioles during his historic no-hitter.

Los Angeles Times file photo

April 1963: Bo Belinsky and fiancee Mamie Van Doren skip the Baseball Writers Annual Awards banquet to go dancing.

August 20, 1968

By Keith Thursby

Times staff writer

Bo Belinsky would have been something in the era of YouTube. A
left-handed pitcher who loved the limelight, he’d probably even have
his own blog.

Belinsky had a short, wild career that was filled with potential and
problems. He pitched the first no-hitter in Los Angeles major league
history for the Angels in 1962 and started his rookie season 5-0.

Ross Newhan, The Times’ longtime baseball writer, wrote in 2001 about his first encounter with Belinsky in Palm Springs in 1962.

"There he was sitting by the Desert Inn pool, wearing shades to
deflect the sun, a drink in his hand, perfectly at ease in the
sparkling environment, as if he was already the toast of the town and
this was just one more introductory news conference."

But the bright lights were too much for Belinsky, who dated
actresses and got lots of publicity, little of which apparently had to
do with his ability to throw a baseball.  His photo file in The Times’
library has as many shots of nightclubs, press conferences and
publicity appearances as pictures of Bo actually pitching. After
starting 5-0, he finished 10-11 in 1962. In 1964, he knocked out Braven
Dyer, the Times’ baseball writer who was 64 at the time, and the Angels
had seen enough. They suspended and ultimately traded him to
Philadelphia.

Photograph by Gary Ambrose / Los Angeles Times

June 1992: Bo Belinsky and Mamie Van Doren appear with Angels owner Gene Autry before a Legends of Baseball game.

By 1968 Belinsky was back in the minor leagues, pitching for Hawaii.
The Times ran a short story about his no-hitter in a Pacific Coast
League game over Tacoma. Even then, the wire story referred to him as
"the playboy pitcher."

Left-handers with potential get plenty of opportunities, and
Belinsky made a few more stops before his career ended in 1970. The
Angels even purchased his contract in 1969 but soon sold him to the
Pirates.

Belinsky died in 2001 at the age of 64 after battling bladder cancer
for years. He had struggled with alcohol and drugs but had found peace
in his last years, becoming active in a Las Vegas church.

The Times’ Chris Foster reported that Belinsky, ever the colorful
quote, said of his religious conversion: "Can you imagine? I had to
come to Las Vegas to discover Jesus Christ."

keith.thursby@latimes.com